Biofuels

Renewable Dairy Fuels Adding RNG Plant

February 7, 2018
• by Staff

Imge courtesy of AMP Americas

Renewable Dairy Fuels (RDF), a business unit of AMP Americas, announced that construction is underway on the country’s largest on-farm anaerobic digester-to-vehicle fuel operation. Located in Fair Oaks, Ind., the dairy project will be the company’s second biogas facility producing renewable natural gas from dairy waste for transportation fuel.

Amp Americas received the first dairy waste-to-vehicle fuel pathway certified by California's Air Resources Board (CARB) for its first RNG project at Fair Oaks Farms in northwest Indiana. The project was also awarded a Carbon Intensity (CI) score of -254.94 gCO2e/MJ, the lowest ever issued by CARB. In addition to generating renewable American energy, on-farm anaerobic digester operations improve sustainability, environmental stewardship, and energy independence.

The new facility will be 50 percent larger than RDF’s operation at Fair Oaks Farms and will be operational this summer. The site is located in Jasper County, Indiana, just a few miles from Fair Oaks Farms. Every day, three digesters located at three dairy farms will convert 950 tons of dairy waste from 16,000 head of milking cows into 100 percent renewable transportation fuel. The RNG will then be injected into the NIPSCO pipeline. Each of the digesters is a DVO, Inc. designed and built Mixed Plug Flow digester.

“Transportation is now the largest source of greenhouse gases in the U.S. and a major source of smog-causing pollution. It is more important than ever to drive further adoption of clean and efficient domestic RNG within the trucking industry,” said Grant Zimmerman, CEO at AMP Americas. “There isn’t enough RNG being produced to meet customer demand. Our new project will help make strong headway toward closing the supply gap.”

AMP Americas continues to expand its national footprint and to invest heavily in dairy RNG projects by partnering with dairy farmers across the country to bring more ultra-low CI gas to market. The company plans to more than double its dairy gas output by mid-2018, and aims to deliver Amp Renew, its 100% percent RNG product, to all 20 of its fueling stations as it brings on future projects.

Renewable Dairy Fuels has expanded production at its biogas operation at Fair Oaks Farms by 30% and now has the capacity to produce over 2.3 million gallons per year of 100% renewable transportation fuel from dairy waste.